Attorneys General in Eleven States are Prioritizing Pesticides Over People

A recent peer-reviewed study proved that living in an environment heavily exposed to pesticides could increase the risk of cancer just as much as smoking. That fact is not stopping eleven State Attorneys General from submitting a formal petition asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to overturn the state of California’s ability to put cancer warning labels on carcinogenic pesticides like Roundup and others. Joined by conventional and GMO farmers, these state AGs appear determined to mislead the public. Understanding that the “so-called” active ingredient in Roundup is the carcinogen glyphosate, what exactly are they up to?

The AGs, led by Nebraska’s Mike Hilgers and Iowa’s Brenna Bird, are taking aim at California’s cancer labeling laws, hoping to prevent California’s Proposition 65, which requires warning labels on certain agriculture chemicals. The group hopes the EPA will enact a rule preempting California’s Prop 65 that would create uniform labeling requirements across the country. Hilger noted that currently, states can require manufacturers to label products with health information that is not consistent with the EPA’s own findings about a product’s health effects. Hilger explained:

“All we’re asking is for the EPA to take the authority Congress has already given to ensure states cannot create a patchwork of labeling laws, creating confusion for manufacturers and consumers but ultimately for customers.

One state should not be able to impose its ideologically-driven views on essential farming products on the rest of the country. If adopted, our proposed rule would streamline the labeling process, dispel consumer confusion, and ensure that those who help put food on our tables can do their jobs without getting caught up in the red tape of 50 separate States. Our proposed rule advances the rule of law and lifts a burden on the farming industry that drives Nebraska’s economy.”

Putting profits over the health of American citizens, Hilgers, Bird, and the other AGs are instead protecting Bayer-Monsanto, the maker of Roundup, and other greedy Big Agriculture poison pushers from legal action. As pointed out by GMOfreeUSA, Bayer-Monsanto’s stock has plummeted following massive Roundup cancer lawsuits commenced, and the mega-company stands to lose billions of dollars as litigation continues. Essentially, the eleven AGs are working for Bayer.

Joining Hilgers and Bird in protecting Bayer over its citizens are the AGs from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina, and South Dakota. The multi-state coalition insists it is simply asking the EPA to step in and help streamline and protect labeling rules for our nationwide glyphosate marketplace, which it describes as necessary for developing low-cost agriculture. Corn farmer Brandon Hunnicutt remarked:

“Glyphosate is still the main tool we utilize. We need to make sure we have it available, it still works [and] in many instances it is the base of everything.”

The poisoning of American men, women, and children must be stopped. Without question, pesticides have long been established as damaging to health, yet increasingly, they are in multiple foods, drinks, and concoctions indicated to make us healthy, including medicines. Even Whole Foods, which claims to still target health-conscious consumers after being taken over by billionaire Jeff Bezos, is sneaking toxic GMO corn into its stores. Sweet corn, a favorite of kids, is labeled as “bioengineered,” the USDA’s new term for GMO. The corn has up to 3 insecticides genetically engineered into its DNA. In other words, the corn has been genetically altered to add poisons into every cell of the corn, which cannot be washed off.

The non-profit consumer education group ToxinfreeUSA pointed out that, through peer-reviewed studies, insecticide-producing GMO corn has been linked to leaky gut in lab animals. Illustrating the all-around confusion that is undoubtedly partly on purpose, the group noted that the bioengineered corn itself is an EPA-regulated pesticide, adding that if it were on the shelf at Home Depot, it would be required to have an EPA pesticide registration number on the label!

Moreover, besides the built-in toxic insecticides, Whole Foods GMO sweet corn is genetically engineered to tolerate spraying with either cancer-causing glyphosate-based herbicides, neurotoxic and teratogenic glufosinate-based herbicides linked to autism and birth defects, or both. Not only are these toxins destroying the lives of our children, but these sprays bring devastating harm to bees, butterflies, and other crucial pollinators.

For those unaware (which is hard to believe at this stage in the game), glyphosate-based herbicides are the most widely used herbicides worldwide. Their use has increased exponentially with the introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops. According to the most recent USDA data (from the USDA Economic Research Service in 2016), 94% of soybean and 89% of corn acreage in the U.S. were planted with GM herbicide-tolerant varieties. Of the sugar beet acreage in the U.S., over 99% is GM herbicide tolerant. Most herbicide-tolerant crops are engineered to be sprayed with a glyphosate-based herbicide, sometimes combined with other toxic herbicides.

The study mentioned at the start of the article affirming pesticides are as toxic as smoking is titled “Comprehensive assessment of pesticide use patterns and increased cancer risk.” Like second-hand smoke, the study also said that the use of pesticides didn’t just increase the risk of developing cancer for the farmer and their families, but it increased the risk for the entire community. THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY. Every single man, woman, and child, and all animals. Besides wondering why the AGs are protecting Bayer over its people, we should also question why the EPA insists glyphosate poses no risk to human health and no ecological dangers. It is absurd.

Understanding that we are currently governed by greed and lies propagated behind carefully crafted smoke and mirrors, as more and more peer-reviewed studies prove the dangers of pesticides—while AGs like the eleven advocating for Bayer try their darndest to sweep these significant harms under the rug and the FDA looks the other way—where does that leave us? Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is correct—we must Make America Healthy Again before it’s too late. Summing up the craziness encircling the AG’s fight to protect Bayer and the toxins harming our children and destroying our natural environment, GMOfreeUSA questioned:

“So, as more studies come out, will we get to a point in the future when people can sue the farmers who use these pesticides? We don’t know of any other situation where one neighbor can poison another and get away with it. Only GMO/conventional farmers and corporations get away with giving people chronic diseases.”